Three-year-old fillies battled it out for a spot in the Canadian Breeders Championship finals on Friday night at Mohawk Racetrack
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Driver Mark MacDonald (five wins on the program) and trainer Casie Coleman (three wins) swept both $36,287 eliminations for pacers with Bay Girl and Western Silk putting forth top-notch efforts after a few weeks off since competing in the Fan Hanover.
In the first elimination, Bay Girl pulled the pocket after the :26.4 first quarter and brushed to command in front of Precious Cammill (Randy Waples).
“My filly hadn’t raced in a couple of weeks since the Fan Hanover final so I was content with the two-hole and Precious Cammill is a nice filly but it looked like Randy wanted some cover,” explained MacDonald in a post-race interview with WEG's Chris Hickey. “She’s a good filly too so I just let her go the front then.”
Once on top, Bay Girl rolled past the half in :55.2 and three-quarters in 1:23.3 before opening up three lengths on the field in the stretch. The 5-2 second choice stopped the clock 1:51 to earn a new lifetime mark. Landfairlastchance (Phil Hudon) rallied from last to finish second with MC Taylor (Simon Allard) third. After making a miscue when trying to find racing room in the stretch, Oceans Motion (Jack Moiseyev) recovered to get fourth. Theta Blue Chip (Paul MacDonell) also qualified for the final with her fifth-place finish.
“I drove her right through [to the wire],” said MacDonald. “She waits a little on the front, she’s actually better with cover so once she was on the front I just tried to keep her attention right to wire. I’d just hate to see her go to sleep because it’s a big advantage to win so you can pick your post.”
“She’s just coming into her own,” he added. “She’s a way better filly than her lines show.”
Bay Girl paid $7.10 to win for the first time in seven outings this year. The daughter of Royal Mattjesty-Whitley Bay, an OSS Gold champion at two, has earned nearly $235,000 to date for owners Michael, Sam and Pat Sergi of Canton, New York.
Fan Hanover winner Western Silk rallied off second over cover to take the second elimination in 1:51.1 for Casie Coleman Stables Inc. of Cambridge, ON and Tom Hill of Lancashire, Great Britain.
Deliciouslynaughty (Simon Allard) carved out fractions of :27.1 and :56.1 before giving way to the first over challenger. Windsong Grand Ave (Jody Jamieson) stepped past the early leader en route to the 1:23.3 mark with favourite Western Silk following her cover.
“I was following the one I wanted to, Windsong Grand Ave, and I thought she was the one to beat,” explained MacDonald. “I figured if I could just stay close she would be fine. She’s just so fast for a piece. As long as she’s within ear shot at the head of the stretch she’s going to go by anyways so in a small field I wasn’t too worried.”
And go by she did. Western Silk kicked away by three lengths in the stretch with a :27.2 final frame while Ice Ice Baby (Sylvain Filion) came in second over Windsong Grand Ave. Warm Waffles (Mike Saftic) and Deliciouslynaughty finished fourth and fifth.
“The plugs are one thing, the blinds are the other because she really flies when you kick those and I didn’t kick those either. She was really good tonight, she could have been sub-1:50 I’m sure of it.”
Western Silk returned $2.50 to win. Now four-for-five on the year, the daughter of Western Terror-Extemporaneous has banked $444,893. The OSS Gold champion at two and three has earned $764,697 to date.
Switching over to the trot, Cross Of Lorraine and Emmylou Who each earned the right to pick their post positions in the final after winning their respective $34,001 eliminations for trotters.
Cross Of Lorraine and driver Jody Jamieson cleared the lead after the :28-second opener and carved out the remaining panels of :57.3 and 1:25.2 with Ipromisenottotell (Phil Hudon) applying first over pressure.
“I was confident that my filly felt good at that point [past three-quarters] and I guess I was going a little bit too slow maybe into that last turn when Phil came,” said Jamieson after the race. “My filly wanted to get at it hard and she did. She’s just responded on the front end all year."
Cross Of Lorraine shook off that rival down the stretch to score by one and a half lengths in a career-best 1:54. No Magic To It (Keith Oliver) came on for second over the pocket-sitting Wilsonator (Sylvain Filion) with Ipromisenottotell settling for fourth. First Avenue (Donald Dupont) was fifth.
“Halfway through the stretch she felt like she didn’t really have much left and Keith was coming on the far outside of the track,” said Jamieson. “I was telling Keith after that she just dug in again. She just doesn’t seem to know the end of the mile. If there’s someone outside of her she just wants to keep going. It’s a great attribute. I just got to make sure she’s trotting off the gate.”
Cross Of Lorraine paid $2.50 to win as the heavy 1-5 favourite. The victory was her third in a row as she swept an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold elimination and final at Georgian Downs in a track and Canadian record time in her previous two starts. Carl Jamieson trains and owns the daughter of Angus Hall-Katya Hanover with Thomas Kyron of Toronto and Hope Johnson of London, ON. She has won six of eight races this year to earn $123,600.
Emmylou Who and trainer-driver Lyle MacArthur benefitted from a break in stride made by heavy favourite Poof Shes Gone (Paul MacDonell) behind the gate in the second elimination.
Ruling Class (Jack Moiseyev) took the early lead and put up a :28.1 first quarter before Emmylou Who rolled to the front from third. The Ken Warkentin-Emerald Seelster filly marched past the half in :57.1 and three-quarters in 1:26.1 as she built up a six-length lead on the field and cruised to the wire for a career-best victory in 1:54.4. Kenu Dance (Roger Mayotte) finished second with Boots N Hearts (Dave Wall) third. Poof Shes Gone recovered to finish fourth and Highland Strikes (Mario Baillargeon) was fifth.
“The last few starts she wasn’t herself. Her temperature was fine but I could tell she wasn’t right," said MacArthur. "I didn’t get a chance to train her at all the past few weeks. I knew if she got a decent trip she would have a good chance."
“There is no picnic for these three-year-old trotting fillies this
year," he continued. "It’s completely wide open anywhere you race this year. My filly is very versatile she can race anyway you want. I’ve made a few equipment changes from last year and it seems to of helped her.
Emmylou Who paid $10.00 to win as the 4-1 second choice. The Casual Breeze and Elegantimage runner-up, who has earned cheques in all nine of her starts this season, picked up her first win of the year for Ontario owners Linda Wellwood, Tammy Aspden, Anne Shunock and Diane Ingham. Her earnings climbed to $218,398 for the year and $352,071 lifetime.
Here is a look at the fields for both finals:
$169,339 Canadian Breeders Championship
Three-Year-Old Filly Pace
1. Ice Ice Baby
2. Bay Girl
3. Western Silk
4. MC Taylor
5. Theta Blue Chip
6. Landfairlastchance
7. Warm Waffles
8. Deliciouslynaughty
9. Windsong Grand Ave
10. Oceans Motion
$158,673 Canadian Breeders Championship
Three-Year-Old Filly Trot
1. No Magic To It
2. Poof Shes Gone
3. Emmylou Who
4. Cross Of Lorraine
5. First Avenue
6. Highland Strikes
7. Wilsonator
8. Kenu Dance
9. Ipromisenottotell
10. Boots N Hearts
For a recap of tonight's Armbro Flight elimination, click here.
To view Friday's results, click here.